Race Forward and Americans for the Arts (AFTA) are excited to announce 14 projects that will receive funding to anchor the inaugural Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy, a new initiative that leverages arts, culture, and creativity to elevate dialogues and spark action to advance a multiracial democracy. Other local projects, while not eligible for funding, are still encouraged to participate or host their own activities.

We’ll also be hosting a webinar this summer to explore ways that folks can plug into this timely initiative. Stay tuned for more details!

“The selected projects represent the diversity, innovation, and uniqueness inherent in the fabric of our country,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “That’s what a multiracial democracy is all about. It’s local communities organizing together to build a future that centers equity, justice, and belonging.”

More than 375 projects were submitted for consideration. The selected projects exemplify strong partnerships with artists, community organizations, local arts agencies, and various units of local and Tribal government and explore our American history, how it shapes our present, and how people are organizing to build an equitable and racially just future.

The 14 selected anchor projects are:

• The Power of Us: Birmingham Summit on Cultural Organizing and Justice by Birmingham Black Theatre Collective (Birmingham, AL)

• Shining a Light on Alaska’s Diverse Communities by Native Movement (Alaska – statewide)

• Black Disabled Artists Cultural Festival by Black Political Cultivation Arizona (Phoenix, AZ)

• Ebony Beach Club Memory Portal by the Studio of Autumn Breon (California – statewide)

• Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation by the Mariposa County Arts Council, Inc (Mariposa, CA)

• BLACK TULIP by Betti Ono Foundation (Oakland, CA)

• The Black Futures Newsstand: Reckoning with, Repairing, and Re-Imagining Chicago’s Media Ecosystem by MediaJustice (Chicago, IL)

• The Affrilachia Summit by Gateway Regional Arts Center (Mt. Sterling, KY)

• The Show Yourself Festival by The Quiet Voice (Nashville, TN)

• “As I See You Exhibit” Michael Brown Jr. by The Michael Brown Sr. Chosen for Change Organization (Ferguson, MO)

• Do It for the Culture, Cleveland by Cleveland VOTES (Cleveland, OH)

• “Immigration Project” by Early Era Collective (Oklahoma City, OK)

• Coming Home by Vanport Mosaic (Portland, OR)

• Initiation – Reclaiming Ancestral Knowledge, Reimagining Communities by South Dallas Parent Coalition (Dallas, TX)

Twelve organizations have partnered with Race Forward and Americans for the Arts to help amplify and elevate the Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy:

• Djimon Hounsou Foundation
• Equitable Cities
• For Freedoms
• The German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Narrative Arts
• Narrative Initiative
• National Civic League
• National League of Cities
• Othering & Belonging Institute
• People’s Action Institute
• PolicyLink
• World Cities Culture Forum

“It is only possible to create a shared, national identity for our country by celebrating the stories, symbols, sounds, and sensations that represent our cultural heritage,” said Suzy Delvalle and Jamie Bennett, interim co-CEOs of Americans for the Arts. “Together, these projects create a beautiful quilt of American stories.  The artists at the center of them are carrying the histories we have lived and rehearsing the futures we have not yet experienced.”

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Race Forward

Americans for the Arts

We hope you’ll join us in making this inaugural Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy as big and as bold as possible! Visit our website to learn more about how to participate. 

In Solidarity,
Race Forward and Americans for the Arts